The Heavyweight Boxing Federation

[Ric915]

I love these write ups

Originally Posted by mh2365

All that talk and watch me lose to the frenchman LOL

mike you definately talk the talk now your gonna have to walk the walk.

[mh2365]

Originally Posted by Ric915

I love these write ups


mike you definately talk the talk now your gonna have to walk the walk.

It'll be fun if both Romy and I take care of business in the early round(s) ... it would be a huge letdown if one of us lost early.

[Ric915]

Originally Posted by mh2365

It'll be fun if both Romy and I take care of business in the early round(s) ... it would be a huge letdown if one of us lost early.

That's why i've been holding back on my crap talking I know my luck

[Romdawg88]

Originally Posted by mh2365

It'll be fun if both Romy and I take care of business in the early round(s) ... it would be a huge letdown if one of us lost early.

Agreed. I think that our match will be fun regardless of our records going in to it but it'll be so much better if we're both undefeated when it happens. In fact I'm hoping that all the forum guys go undefeated until they start meeting up with each other. I'm sure that KC will make some great stories so that happen.

That's why i've been holding back on my crap talking I know my luck

My guy can get blown out in 1 in every fight and I'll still be here yapping away.

[kenyan_cheena]

It's great to come back after my last visit and find four new posts in the thread. Thanks so much for your enthusiasm about the HBF/IBL, guys.

[kenyan_cheena]

(continuation of post #1380)

"Now that I've actually done it, I can't believe it," said Amonti afterwards. "The truth of what I've accomplished, it just flooded over me. When I look back, the hard work was done a long time before tonight but to finish it off in this way is fantastic."

Amonti landed 202 of 377 punches (53.6%) during the bout while his stubborn but overmatched opponent connected with 125 of 306 (40.8%). Amonti was leading 49-46 on all three cards going into the final round.

The Italian's victory made the results of the evening's final two bouts meaningless, at least as far as progression to stage two was concerned. Amonti's win guaranteed that he'd join Brooklyn's Riddick "Big Daddy" Bowe there and nothing that 28th seed Joe Bugner or 60th seed Hein Ten-Hoff did could change that.

Nonetheless, Bugner produced an excellent performance in the Co-Feature, controlling the early rounds before flooring Norway's Otto Von Porat twice in the final stanza on the way to a unanimous decision victory (60-53, 60-54, 60-53).

Von Porat had ended a three fight losing skid with a win over Hein Ten-Hoff last month but struggled for consistency against his bigger English opponent. With the exception of the second round, the Norwegian was never really in the contest. The defeat saw him end his stay in the World Championship tournament with a 3-4(2) record, a disappointing mark considering the fact that he started the event with back-to-back stoppage victories.

The tournament's 28th seed, Bugner (4-2-1(1)) will certainly look back with regret on a pair of performances, those being his debut against Sante Amonti (a draw) and a unanimous decision loss to Ten-Hoff in June. Both were bouts he should have won and in the final evaluation, they've cost him a place in stage two.

In the evening's main event, Bowe scored a 3rd round stoppage victory against Ten-Hoff. The World Championship tournament's 5th seed made a fast start, coming out aggressively and putting Ten-Hoff on the canvas with a stinging body shot late in the opening round. But the Brooklyn native was surprisingly cautious in the second, allowing the German to take it. However, that had clearly been some kind of trick or ruse as Bowe exploded in the third, pounding his opponent with a series of power shots before a smashing left hook worsened a cut that had opened under Ten-Hoff's right eye early in the stanza. The fight was stopped at the 2:52 mark, making it Bowe's third round three stoppage victory in four fights.

"After round two I just told myself to get it over with," said Bowe. "I knew the guy couldn't hurt me so I just went out for the third with the sole intention of ending it right then and there."

When speaking on the weekend about tonight's event Bowe had mentioned the importance of finishing stage one with a perfect record in order to guarantee an easier start to stage two. He's done exactly that and will be, at worst, the 2nd seed in Group Four of stage two.

And so the final standings at the top of Group Five look like this:

1. 1(5) RIDDICK BOWE (USA), 7-0-0(4)
2. 7(108) SANTE AMONTI (ITALY) 5-1-1(1)

3. 2(28) JOE BUGNER (ENGLAND), 4-2-1(1)
4. 4(60) HEIN TEN-HOFF (GERMANY), 4-3-0(2)
5. 3(44) OTTO VON PORAT (NORWAY), 3-4-0(2)

Amonti will find himself in Group One of stage two, facing the prospect of matchups against Gene Tunney and Sam McVey, amongst others.

EARLIER IN THE EVENING...

* The card opened with a 1st Defense tournament bout between Chicago's Bill Tate and Washington native Johnny Riggins that ended in a draw (57-57, 58-56 (Riggins), 57-57). It was an entertaining contest with Riggins taking the opening round with ease before Tate fought back to assume control through the middle rounds. Riggins finished strongly and it did seem that a draw was a reasonable verdict.

Riggins is now 3-3-1 while Tate has been involved in three drawn bouts and is 1-3-3.

* The second fight would also conclude with a drawn result, with Tate's fellow Chicago native Toxie Hall wasting a dominant opening three rounds against the winless Philadelphian Don Warner. Hall swept those first three rounds on two of the scorecards but he couldn't maintain that high standard through the bottom half of the bout. Warner rallied admirably and when the contest was over, two of the judges had it all tied up at 57-57 while the third had awarded it to Hall, 58-57.

* In what will very likely be his final bout under the banner of the Heavyweight Boxing Federation, New York's Gerry Cooney scored his second consecutive victory in what was, to be honest, his first satisfactory showing during the tournament. He defeated Tom Cowler by a comfortable unanimous decision (58-53, 60-51, 59-52), dropping the Englishman once in round two and twice in round five.

The fact that Cooney produced such an effort when the tournament was already over for him only succeeds in making his earlier failures look even more disappointing. His record is now 2-5 while Cowler fell to 1-6. It really would be a surprise to see either man taking part in HBF action in the immediate future...

[kenyan_cheena]

SUMMARY OF RESULTS
HEAVYWEIGHT BOXING FEDERATION FIGHT CARD
MONDAY 12 AUGUST 2002
ARIAKE COLISEUM, TOKYO, JAPAN


OPENING BOUT

HBF 1st Defense Tournament - Stage One - Group Five
6(44) Bill Tate D6 7(52) Johnny Riggins

PRELIMINARY 1

HBF 1st Defense Tournament - Stage One - Group Five
5(36) Toxie Hall D6 8(60) Don Warner

PRELIMINARY 2

HBF World Championship Tournament - Stage One - Group Five
5(76) Gerry Cooney UD6 8(124) Tom Cowler

SUPPORT BOUT

HBF World Championship Tournament - Stage One - Group Five
7(108) Sante Amonti KO6 6(92) Alex Miteff

CO-FEATURE

HBF World Championship Tournament - Stage One - Group Five
2(28) Joe Bugner UD6 3(44) Otto Von Porat

MAIN EVENT

HBF World Championship Tournament - Stage One - Group Five
1(5) Riddick Bowe TKO3 4(60) Hein Ten-Hoff

[kenyan_cheena]

* Romy, Mike, Chris, Lethal Liberal *

You will know by this time tomorrow...

[kenyan_cheena]

A BLESSING IN DISGUISE?

Monday 12 August 2002

Writing today in his New York Age column, sports journalist James Reynolds has stated that Elmer Ray's defeat at the hands of Floyd Patterson on Friday night and resultant failure to qualify for stage two of the Heavyweight Boxing Federation's World Championship tournament could very well turn out to be "a blessing in disguise" for the Florida firebrand.

"I want to see the kid succeed just as much as anyone else," wrote Reynolds. "But the fact is that even though he's a great talent, he's simply not ready for what he would have had to deal with in stage two of the tournament. I could say the same for Patterson because I believe that he'll be lucky to win three or four fights. It will serve Elmer in a far greater way for him to continue to develop his skills during the American tournament and anyone who would disagree with that is seriously deluding themselves."

Reynolds' dislike of the Florida Alliance leader was nationwide news during the early months of the federation's life. The journalist did not take kindly to the 17 year-old's outlandish behaviour and went as far as making it his mission to have him expelled from the World Championship tournament. However, after suffering a serious illness that required hospitalisation back in late April Reynolds announced that he had experienced a change of heart and in the time since has been one of Ray's biggest supporters.

"Records may not always mean too much," Reynolds continued. "But I would much rather see the kid have a 17-2 mark after the American tournament than a 9-5 one after the World Championship tournament, if he'd made it. I'd like to think that President Vincennes and the HBF would be of the same opinion."

It will be interesting to see and hear how Elmer Ray reacts to Reynolds' article in the coming days. It must be said though that the journalist's words do have a deal of truth to them. Looking at how Ray performed in the World Championship tournament, he was perfect against fighters seeded lower than him in his group but suffered his only defeats against the two seeded higher, Jimmy Young and Floyd Patterson.

ALLIANCE MEMBERS ARRIVE IN VEGAS

Continuing with the topic of the Florida Alliance, group members Elmer Ray, Romy Alvarez, James Ray and Ariel Reyes jetted into Las Vegas this morning ahead of Alvarez's HBF debut tomorrow night at the Aladdin Resort & Casino.

They were met by a large media contingent with most of the questions directed at Elmer Ray, who wore a pair of dark shades to conceal the damage that Floyd Patterson had inflicted upon him in Friday night's mostly one-sided contest. A number of journalists wanted Ray's take on the comments of Indianapolis fighter Mike Hanson, who will also be making his debut tomorrow night and said yesterday that the entire Florida Alliance is "overrated".

"Who the hell is he?" replied Ray. "What the dude done so far, y'all? He ain't earn the right to say jack about me or the Alliance. He was runnin' his mouth off 'bout Romy the other week and now he sayin' we overrated? Dude gotta step in the ring and show he can bring it before he start talkin'."

As expected, Ray was also questioned over his opinion on today's James Reynolds column.

"Ain't read it, y'all," he said. "I respec' Mr. Reynolds but all I gots t' say is losin' the chance to make half a mil ... that ain't no blessin', y'all."

Standing out amongst the group due to his shoulder length hair, Alvarez was asked how he was feeling about tomorrow night.

"Excited," he replied. "A little nervous too, you know? Elmer and the other guys, they've been great in helping me focus on what's important. Just to execute my fightplan, just to go out the way we've worked on it. It feels like I've been waiting for a while, waiting a long time for it but looking back, well ... it's only been two months since I auditioned for the federation. I guess a lot has happened since then ... but, but I feel confident that I can make a good start to my career."

The other half of the Florida Alliance (Tommy Gomez, Oliver McCall and Terone Haynes) set down in Atlantic City yesterday afternoon. Gomez faces the biggest fight of his career to date when he clashes with top seed George Chuvalo on Wednesday night with a spot in stage two of the World Championship tournament on the line.

"We jus' all hopin' an' prayin' that Tamps can pull it off," said Ray. "Gonna be a difficult fight for him, 'cause that Chuvalo dude as tough as they come, y'all. Tommy ain't gonna take no backward step, so it gonna be a great matchup, no doubt."

[Romdawg88]

Almost showtime, I'm pumped for our debuts.

[kenyan_cheena]

HBF ROOKIES IMPRESS IN VEGAS

Tuesday 13 August 2002

Tonight's Aladdin Resort & Casino Heavyweight Boxing Federation fight card was unique for more than one reason. To start with, it was the first time that an HBF card featured eight bouts on the bill. Consisting of the semi-finals of the Pacific Coast Boxing League tournament aswell as opening action in the federation's Qualifying League it was set to be a night where patrons would really get their money's worth. In addition, it was the first card since the commencement of the feeder leagues back in February where a number of competitors would be making their HBF debuts. In particular, a quartet of these rookies were being looked upon as possible world ranked contenders of the future, making it a fascinating and interesting evening of pugilism...

Opening Bout

Having made his presence felt with words during the past couple of weeks, the time had come for Indiana's Mike Hanson to step into the ring and show that he could also talk with his fists. Having been particularly vocal in regards to the Florida Alliance, he'd said in the hours leading up to tonight's event that he would need to back it all up.

"Of course," said Hanson. "Talk is just talk if you can't back it up with your actions. I'm going to have to do that tonight and I'm looking forward to it."

Hanson's opponent was the Frenchman Sylvain Ribery. Also making his debut, most had written him off as having next to no chance of surviving Hanson's sledgehammer blows but he looked quietly confident as he made his way to the ring. HBF scouts had liked his aggressiveness and ring smarts during the auditions, traits he would have to make the most of against Hanson.

No doubt making a statement as to his long-term goals in the HBF, Hanson was accompanied into the arena by the pounding guitar-driven rhythms of Korn's "Here To Stay", decked out in a robe of dark blue with gold trim. They were the colours of his beloved Notre Dame university, the logo of which was blazed across his back in gold print. He received a warm welcome from the crowd to which he raised his fist, sweat bubbling upon his forehead.

When Hanson removed his robe, the intimidation factor was in full force. Standing 6'4" he had weighed in at 235 pounds yesterday, most of which appeared to be pure muscle. His trunks beared the same colours as his robe, dark blue with gold trim. When the two men came together in the centre of the ring Hanson towered some six inches over Ribery, glaring down at him with destructive intent.

It seemed like the crowd was on the edge of their seats in the moments before the opening bell. They were anticipating a massacre but the final outcome didn't quite live up to those hopes. In fact, it turned out to be quite a controversial fight. Like many others, the audience had not anticipated the toughness and stubborness of the Frenchman. For six rounds Ribery absorbed some tremendous shots from Hanson but despite being floored on three seperate occasions somehow managed to survive to the final bell.

Ribery made it clear in the opening round that he wouldn't be a pushover, showing an aggressive mindset and working behind the jab. Hanson landed a trio of crushing blows during the stanza: a right hand one minute in, a winging right thirty seconds later and a jolting uppercut late in the piece. On each occasion Ribery fired back almost immediately. Round two was on the main non-eventful but Hanson went back to work in the third, hurting Ribery with another one of those big right hands early and tagging him throughout the round before finishing his work with a smashing uppercut moments before the bell. Hanson shook his head as he returned to his corner, seemingly bemused by the fact that his man was still on his feet, still conscious.

Round four would be an even more punishing affair. Referee Fred Steinwinder would have been within his rights to stop the contest but despite the damage being inflicted upon him, Ribery was still working hard. To be truthful, he was showing a busier disposition than his slow-moving opponent, easily out-throwing Hanson over the course of the contest. Even so, Hanson was having a lot of success evading Ribery's punches, showing an excellent defense despite his lack of mobility. The big Indiana native was looking for the big punch to finish things and while he landed a number of them, he wasn't throwing enough of them.

The Frenchman tasted the canvas for the first time at the end of the fifth, a round that he had been winning up to that point. It was a sweetly-timed uppercut that turned his legs to jelly but he was saved by the bell. Clearly, Ribery had not fully recovered during the intermission and he was on his backside again forty seconds into the final round, a left hook doing the damage.

Hanson shouted at Steinwinder to call an end to the bout but Ribery was allowed to continue and he was down for a second time in the round and third in the fight midway through when a straight right caught him flush. He was up at four and to Hanson's disbelief was allowed to continue.

Spending the remainder of the fight shaking his head, Hanson landed one more big punch, a straight right thirty seconds from the end. He then appeared to decide that he'd had enough, spitting some harsh words at Steinwinder and circling Ribery until the final bell sounded. Congratulating his opponent's bravery, Hanson gave the referee another piece of his mind, the scene akin to one of those amusing shouting matches between an umpire and a manager at a baseball game.

The verdict went to Hanson by unanimous decision: 60-51, 58-53, 60-51. He had landed his punches at a fantastic strikerate of 70.9% (161/227) while Ribery connected with 59 of 343 (17.2%).

(to be continued)

[kenyan_cheena]

(continuation)

"I'm a little bit more than merely pissed off," said a still-agitated Hanson shortly after the verdict. "The guy has a big set, I have to admit. But he couldn't hit me and when he did, he couldn't hurt me. I was the only one doing any damage in the fight so why keep it going when there's no chance he'll win? It should have been stopped in the fourth because he had nothing left by then. I guess they wanted me to kill the guy before stopping it, 'cause I did everything but that."

Hanson calmed down eventually, speaking on how much he'd enjoyed his debut.

"That was a real buzz," he said, smiling. "Type o' thing that lets you know you're alive, you know? I wish I could step back in for another six rounds right now. I'm ready for it. I'd have no trouble goin' another six."

The audience gave Hanson an extended round of applause as he departed the arena but whether the newspapers and television reports will be so generous, we'll have to wait and see. Being absolutely honest, the Indiana slugger didn't quite live up to the hype that he and the media had generated in the past weeks. He was being spoken of as a monster with destructive KO power but was unable to knock Ribery down until the end of the fifth round. The Frenchman may have been tougher tha expected, but Hanson's power was, without a doubt, less than expected.

Preliminary 1

Having received considerably less publicity than his fellow debutants, 40 year-old West Virginian Hugh Phillips showed that he's just as worthy of it with a dominant unanimous decision victory over Connecticut's Lee Q. Murray (59-54, 60-53, 59-54). The long-limbed 73rd seed rode a potent left jab all the way to victory, making it near impossible for his smaller opponent to mount an effective offense.

As in the opener, the height distance between the two combatants was something to behold with the 6'5" Phillips a full five inches taller than Murray. He was also old enough to be the South Norwalk native's father, another fact that made the event quite unique.

After a tentative start Phillips was already well on the way to setting the tempo for the fight by the time the opening round was over. That jab was a constant presence in Murray's face and after a more competitive second round, Phillips was in complete command in rounds three and four. Murray had his best moments of the fight in round five but it was only a brief stretch of sunshine for him as Phillips dropped him for a four count with a powerful left hook midway through the final stanza.

"Lot of folks have said I'm too old," said Phillips. "Well I think I dispelled that opinion tonight. I was in against a guy half my age and, not to brag, I dominated him."

ESPN's Bill Farris commented on Phillips' stature and physique, noting how suited it was to the Heavyweight division. Phillips nodded his agreement.

"Yeah, I've got some God-given gifts that really make certain aspects of the game easier for me," he said. "I'd be foolish not to exploit them and everyone saw the results of that tonight."

(to be continued)

[Ric915]

Great write up of Mikes bout

[mh2365]

A win is a win ... I can't help it if the guy has a granate jaw.

[kenyan_cheena]

Originally Posted by mh2365

A win is a win ... I can't help it if the guy has a granate jaw.

I thought it was a good win, myself. But the journalist who did the review is from Florida, apparently...

[Romdawg88]

Mike's punch accuracy and his defense were quite impressive I thought. I'm sure he'll show off those hurting bombs we all know he has next fight.

[kenyan_cheena]

Romy, Chris, everyone,

Sorry for falling behind with the write-ups. I wasn't in the right frame of mind for writing yesterday. I've started on Romy's bout today but it won't be ready 'til tomorrow. I want to do the best I can with these write-ups as they feature your fighters, who will eventually be amongst the most important characters in the story.

Once again, sorry for the delay.

k_c

[Romdawg88]

No worries man take as much time as you want to do them right. Chris and myself have waited awhile for our debuts so one or two more days won't matter. Among the most important in the story huh that sounds cool of course now watch all of us completely flame out and ruin all your ideas.

[kenyan_cheena]

(continuation of post #1392)

"Your jab was a thing of beauty," said Farris. "I have to say that it's going to serve you well during the tournament and beyond."

"Well, thank you, Bill," replied Phillips, smiling. "I don't think I could have asked for a better start to my career, really. Everything went as planned. Entirely."

The lanky West Virginian left the ring soon after, the crowd offering him an ovation every bit as enthusiastic as the one they'd afforded Hanson following the evening's opening contest.

Preliminary 2

Of all the fighters that the Heavyweight Boxing Federation discovered during their Qualifying League auditions, Florida's Romy Alvarez was considered by an almost unanimous consensus to be the most impressive. A gifted boxer with quick hands and a solid defense, the Belle Glade-born 22 year-old stood out above the pack at the Miami Arena auditions in early June, leading HBF President Michael Vincennes to comment that Elmer Ray and his Florida Alliance "should keep an eye on this guy".

Alvarez was a perfect candidate to join the group and as it would turn out he increased the chances of that happening, taking matters into his own hands when he attended the International Boxing League's American Airlines Arena selection trials. Once there, he befriended Elmer's cousin James, who was trying out for a spot in the league's Welterweight tournament. Alvarez assisted Ray during the trials, helping him train and giving him some advice along the way. Within days, Alvarez had been invited to train at the Alliance's Hastings headquarters and by mid-July had become the newest member of the group.

A month has now passed since then and during that time the Qualifying League tournament's 60th seed has continued to train hard and has also appeared alongside his fellow Alliance members at a number of events, including Friday night's Miami fight card where Elmer Ray crashed out of the World Championship tournament. Upon arriving in Vegas yesterday morning Alvarez had spoken of his excitement and nervousness in regards to his professional debut. That debut took place in the evening's third bout with Alvarez taking on Canada's Antonio Serioux.

There was something of a commotion amongst the crowd in the moments before Alvarez arrived in the ring as fellow QL competitor Mike Hanson returned to the arena and took a seat at ringside. Having been victorious in the first fight on the card only an hour earlier, he'd showered and changed into a shirt, jacket and jeans and chatted in an animated fashion with those seated around him.

Hip hop has been a staple of the Alliance's ring entrances but they took a distinct turn tonight as Alvarez made his way to the ring with Metallica's "Bleeding Me" assaulting the arena's speaker system. Accompanied by Elmer Ray (wearing the same dark shades he'd had on when the group arrived in Vegas the previous day), James Ray and Ariel Reyes aswell as his corner crew, Alvarez wore a robe of black with red and white piping, head concealed under an oversized hood. As always, the other members of the entourage were decked out in outfits of black with touches of red and white. After climbing between the ropes, "The Iceman" flipped off his hood to reveal that his long hair was pulled back into a ponytail that was covered by a black cotton sleeve, held in place by hair ties of black, red and white. He raised his right fist brielfy to acknowledge the crowd's applause, bouncing around in his corner and gazing briefly at his opponent.

There was a stone-like quality to Alvarez's countenance, as if he was immersed in a deep concentration. Elmer Ray was constantly talking to him, pacing back and forth like a football coach during a training drill and issuing words of encouragement that Alvarez nodded in reply to.

(to be continued)

[Romdawg88]

That was a pretty cool entrance can't wait for my throwdown with my northern neighbor. "Almost unanimous consensus to be the most impressive" sweet I guess it does pay off to comment repeatedly in someone's thread.